More than Friends
by midnight-angel910
Summary: Kagome Higurashi is a 17 year old at a new school. Her father has just died and she has no friends there. What happens when she meets new people and falls in love with a boy who is just a friend Based on real life situations. Rated M for later chapter
1. A New Beginning

Yay for new stories! This one's going to be a lot different than the other one I've written, and I'll probably be able to update it quicker than the others…er maybe. Sorry if someone wrote something like this already. This is based off my life, very roughly lol. Anyway, here it goes. R & R please!

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Chapter 1: A New Beggining

A beautiful and quite upset raven haired girl stared in misery at the school in front of her. Big, squared, and boring was all that she could see out of it. It was Kagome Higurashi's first day at a new school, and she already hated it. A year before this, she was living happily with her mother, father and little brother in a small town outside of Tokyo. Life was nearly perfect, until the dreaded day when the doctor had called her family. Her father had become very ill, and was given 6 months to live. He lasted 6 days. Without the extra income, Kagome had to move into a small apartment with the rest of her family and attend a public school. It seemed that the seventeen-year-old's life had crashed down before her without her taking a second breath.

Now standing here, staring at this new high school, Sakura High, Kagome felt more like she was going to prison. She had no friends, no family, no one here. Wearing a comfortable pair of jeans and a form-fitting t-shirt, she only hoped that she could blend in so no one would bother her.

'_Well, might as well get going….'_ She thought, less than enthusiastic.

Slowly she pulled open the door and nearly fell over backwards at the sight that was presented to her. Both boys and girls were laughing loudly, almost screaming, two boys ran through the hall like madmen, and she counted…1…2…3..4 couples making out within at least 3 meters of each other.

'_This is going to be a _very_ interesting year' _she thought. Making her way up the near by stairs, she found the Dean's office on the third floor of the school. She walked up to the secretary, a young woman in her late twenties, with brown-red hair and a kind smile.

"Um…hello, my name is Kagome Higurashi. I'm new here and I need my class schedule."

"Of course! Just a minute please," she said kindly as she opened a file drawer and began flipping through papers.

"Higurashi, Kagome…" she mumbled. "Ah! Here it is!" she said with a smile, handing a list of classes to her.

"Thanks" Kagome said as she turned to leave.

"…Hey" said a voice right behind her.

Kagome jumped about a foot in the air before turning around to face a very pretty girl. She had jet black hair, much like her own, that was pulled back into a ponytail.

"Um..hello?" Kagome said, not knowing what else to say.

"Hey my name is Sango, you're new here right? Sorry I scared you." She said.

"Oh, um yeah, I'm new, it's alright, I just didn't know anyone was behind me." Kagome answered.

Sango motioned for Kagome to follow her, and not knowing what else to do, Kagome complied.

"If you don't mind, can I see your schedule?" Sango asked.

"Sure," kagome replied, handing her the sheet of paper.

Sango glanced quickly down the list and smiled.

"Well, I would like to congratulate you on getting all of the hardest teachers your first semester." Sango began with utmost sarcasm, "but if it makes you feel any better, it's still not that hard, you just have to actually pay attention in class. We have 5 of our 7 classes together and the same break though! That's lucky!"

Kagome smiled, she really liked this girl, and something about her made her feel comfortable even at this foreign school. She could definitely tell that they were going to be good friends.

"Here's our first class, AP World History with Mrs. Hakashura." Sango said stopping in front of a fair sized class room.

"Don't be too intimidated by the idiots." Sango warned.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Kagome asked.

Just then a dark haired boy, who just happened to be very attractive, walked up to Sango.

"You'll see." Sango said bitterly.

"My dearest Sango, how lovely you look today." The boy said to her.

"Save it Miroku." Sango said, trying to walk around him, but to no avail.

Glancing to the side, Miroku spotted Kagome, and turned to face her.

"Ah, a new girl, and a beautiful one at that." He said. "I would like to ask you a question."

"Really? Umm…what?" Kagome asked.

Miroku smiled and began to say "Would you like to possible go--" before getting cut off by a very angry Sango.

"Miroku, you pervert! She just got here and you're _already_ hitting on her. Kami will you ever learn!" Sango yelled at him, dragging him away from Kagome and to his seat.

"But Sango, you know it's only you I want," Miroku said with a falsely Innocent look on his face.

"I know what _you_ want Houshi, and it is not something I want to be a part of." Sango retorted.

Walking back to Kagome, Sango smiled sweetly before taking her to the front of the room towards the teacher.

"Sorry about that, it's hard to control him sometimes." Sango said before shooting a glare at Miroku, who in return, only shrugged.

"Don't worry about it." Kagome replied, she thought Miroku was fairly funny actually, and there had been a boy at her old school who acted a lot like him, so she was sort of used to his perverted nature.

Kagome walked the rest of the way up to the teacher's desk and gave her the schedule and a note.

"Ah, yes, Higurashi Kagome, welcome to Sakura High." Mrs. Hakashura said. She was a little, middle aged woman with brown hair and piercing blue eyes. "Please give an introduction to the class before you sit down so the students can know who you are."

"Alright." Kagome answered, not too happy about being put in front of about 25 students, at least it was a small class, right?

"Class! Settle down, a new student would like to introduce herself." Mrs. Hakashura said. After the class quieted down, she motioned for Kagome to go ahead.

"Um, Hi, my name is Kagome Higurashi, I just moved here from a small town outside of Tokyo…and uh..I'm looking forward to meeting you all." Kagome stumbled, not knowing what to say.

'_Wow. I just sounded intelligent'_ she thought miserably.

"Very nice Kagome, now please take your seat next to Mr. Takahashi." Mrs. Hakashura said, pointing to a boy sitting in the back corner.

'_Oh my God'_ Kagome thought.

The boy she had pointed to had to be the most gorgeous guy she had ever seen. He had long silver hair that reflected the light along with two of the most beautiful amber eyes that she had ever seen. His body was well muscled, she could tell, even though he wore a loose shirt with "Green Day" written on it. (A.N. sorry peoples. I love me some green day lol) Kagome blushed slightly as she made her way to the back of the class and sat next to him.

"Hey, what's up, my name is Inuyasha," he said.

Kagome nearly fainted. This guy, who was obviously popular, hot, and smart (AP class remember) was talking to her, a new girl that no one knew.

"Um…hi!" she said smiling.

He smiled a tiny smile back and then focused on the teacher. As much as Kagome wanted to pay attention, she just couldn't. She was so tired and the subject of the American Revolution was just plain boring to her today. ((Yeah, I'm mad at my world Civilizations teacher right now. So I'm making everyone hate the class lol)) After what seemed like a life time (but was really just an hour) the bell rang. Kagome got up and stretched, grabbed her bag, walked up to Sango, and the two got out of the class as fast as they could.

"God I _hate_ that class!" Sango said exasperated.

"Is it always that boring?" Kagome asked.

"You betcha." A voice came from the side. It was Inuyasha! "See you around Kagome." He said before walking off in the other direction. Kagome just stared after him.

"Hello! Earth to Kagome!" Sango said, waving a hand in front of Kagome's face to get her attention.

"Oh, uh, sorry." Kagome said, still slightly distracted.

"I know, I know, Inuyasha is cute, but come on, you don't have to drool over him! He's not _that_ great." Sango said, laughing at Kagome's spacey expression.

"You know him well?" Kagome asked.

"Kind of, Miroku and I are good friends, believe it or not, and Miroku is good friends with Inuyasha, so I know him as a mutual friend." Sango explained.

"Speaking of the letch." Sango said as Miroku found his way to Sango's other side.

"Hello girls." Miroku said happily, winking at Kagome.

Kagome had no idea what was happening, but all the sudden Sango stopped dead, her face turning redder by the second. And then she saw it. Miroku was firmly and obviously groping Sango's ass. Sango spun around, smacked the boy, and screamed loud enough for all of Tokyo to hear

"Miroku you ass! How many times do I have to tell you to keep your hands off my butt!"

"I'm sorry Sango I couldn't resist" Miroku said, rubbing the red mark on his face.

Sango sighed deeply and Kagome chuckled.

"Don't encourage him." She said to Kagome, which only made her smile wider.

Kagome knew that there was definitely something more going on between the two of them. She would just have to see. As for her, she had been right earlier, this was going to be a _very_ interesting year.

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AN: Hope you liked it. Again, Please review! I'll update as soon as i possibly can.


	2. Period 2: English

Yay! Another chapter. I want to thank everyone who reviewed, you guys are awesome! It's so nice to have people review, so please continue to do so. Anyway, I hope you enjoythe chapter!

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Chapter 2. Period Two: English

The three new found friends walked down a flight of stairs to reach the second floor of the building. Fighting their way through the hall way, they reached another room that was decorated with posters of English-speaking countries.

"Well, here we are English 3 with Mrs. Jones. She's a little…uh…crazy, just so you know." Sango informed Kagome, who was staring into the class with interest.

_'Crazy foreign language teachers, sounds like fun.'_ Kagome thought with a smile.

She walked in and again gave a note to the teacher, who looked up at her and smiled.

"Hello! Welcome to our class-ar-ama!" Mrs. Jones said with an American accent…well…she was American so I guess it made sense.

'_Class-ar-ama? O god, this woman is strange'_ Kagome thought.

The teacher pointed her to a seat towards the front of the class. Sitting down, Kagome waited for the passing period to end and the bell to begin class to ring. Sitting to her left was Sango, and next to her sat Miroku. The two were talking about everything and nothing, and Kagome didn't want to butt in. Looking the other way, she stared out the window which gave a great view of the football stadium (like soccer football people. Not American.)) It was a sunny day, which made Kagome hate being stuck inside. Kagome heard a girl gasp slightly so she looked to the direction of the girl, who in turn, was staring at the door. Glancing over Kagome saw and knew exactly why the girl had reacted. Coming in through the doorway was none other than Inuyasha.

'_I guess I'm not the only girl who thinks he's ridiculously attractive._' She thought.

Inuyasha walked toward her and sat in the chair to her right.

"Hey Inuyasha!" Sango said cheerfully, smiling at the boy now sitting next to a suddenly much shyer Kagome.

"Hey Sango, are you and Miroku coming to the game tomorrow?" He asked.

"Well yeah! But only under one condition" Sango said, looking at kagome and smiling.

"What?" Inuyasha inquired.

"I want to take Kagome with me, she should have some fun right?" Sango said.

Kagome smiled in spite of feeling slightly embarrassed for being pulled into the conversation.

"Well I don't care if she comes, doesn't matter to me." Inuyasha said.

"Settled! We'll meet you at the stadium entrance at seven." Sango said, happily concluding her 'negotiations.'

Turning her head, Kagome glared playfully at Sango.

"I never said I'd go you know!" she whispered to the girl next to her.

"Oh come on, if Inuyasha's there you know you'll want to." Sango said, smirking at kagome.

Kagome blushed.

"Fine I'll go. But don't push me on Inuyasha ok?" she said.

"Of course not." Sango said.

A minute later the bell rang and Mrs. Jones went off on an eccentric lecture on how the use of all the parts of speech was necessary for learning the English language properly. She would enunciate random words and jump up excitedly when someone answered her questions. The bell to end the class rang after an hour, and Kagome and Sango walked towards the next class, Kagome slightly disturbed from the lecture by a woman who was obviously taking just a few too many drugs. ((lol this is my Spanish 2 teacher just so you know))

-- - -

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Kagome got to eat the famous school French fries, which to her tasted more like a ball of grease put in a more edible form. She saw Inuyasha in two more of her classes, but they sat on different sides of the room. Sometimes he would smile kindly at her for a split second, before looking away. Kagome loved his smile, and it always brought one to her own lips. Kagome walked to her car, exhausted from her first day.

_'Wait…first day?_' she thought in surprise. _'How the hell did all of this happen in one day?_' Kagome realized in the span of one day she had made one good friend, developed a crush, and been invited to a game the following night.

_'God help me, this is crazy.'_ She thought as she unlocked the door to her little white car and got in.

Driving home didn't help calm her nerves as it usually did. She wound through a street that went by the park, glancing at the trees as she waited at a stop for the traffic light to change. Nature always helped her concentrate. She never knew exactly why, but when she was surrounded by trees in a forest, or the sand of the ocean, she always felt comfortable, like she truly belonged there.

_'What am I going to do tomorrow?'_ She thought apprehensively. '_There's no way I'll be able to keep up. Everyone here already knows everyone else, but me, I only know a spunky Sango and a pervert.' _

Kagome smiled as she remember the two's interaction that ended in the pervert getting a rather large red mark on his face.

As the light changed green, she frowned as she slowly took her foot off the clutch and accelerated the car. ((It's a manual five speed)) She slowly let the thought of Inuyasha enter her mind.

'_O god what am I going to do. He'll probably think I'm an idiot if I try to talk to him. I shouldn't even like him so quickly. I never like guys like that at first. What is it about him that draws him to me? God I wish I knew…I wish I had a guy to get advice from.'_ She thought sadly.

'_O daddy, why'd you have to go…_ ?' Her voice was only a whisper in her mind.

Kagome felt her eyes tear, but held them in. How she missed him, her father, it hurt her so much to know that he would never see his daughter grow up, graduate high school then college. He'd never see her get married or have kids, and he'd never be there to give her advice about guys.

Never again.

Releasing a sigh, Kagome did what she was forced to do for the past year: Push her father to the back of her mind. Slowly and sadly, she pulled into the parking lot of the now too familiar apartment complex. Pulling into a parking spot, Kagome got out and grabbed her backpack. Hoisting on of the bag's straps over her shoulder, Kagome entered the door to the main lobby, and making her way to the stairs, climbed to the third floor.

Sighing sadly once again, she turned a key in the door of complex 24B. It was a medium sized apartment, enough for three people, barely. A small living room area with an equally small television set was the main room. The kitchen was an area nearest to the door, and was big enough for only about two people to stand side-by-side in. The walls were plain and whitewashed, but her mother had tried to make up for it by putting various pictures of landscapes on the walls. The rooms weren't horrible. Kagome and her mother got their own rooms, while her brother Souta usually slept on the couch.

No one was home.

Kagome entered her room, which consisted of a twin bed pushed to the corner of her room, a small dresser in an area near her door, and a very small compact desk for doing school work. A lamp stood next to her bed and Kagome turned it on, needing things to be as light as possible right now. Her very favorite part of the complex was the bathroom that connected with her room. Somehow, her mother had afforded two bathrooms, and had kindly given kagome the largest one.

She needed desperately to clear her mind, so she did the only thing she could usually do, she walked into the bathroom and turned the hot water of the bath on. Closing the door, Kagome allowed the bathtub to fill with hot water. She tiredly stripped out of her clothes and kicked them to a corner of the bathroom. Getting in the water was probably the most rewarding thing she could do for herself. She sighed as she sunk into the water that so gently caressed her skin.

Leaning against the wall, Kagome let her mind relax. She thought of Sango and Miroku, her first day of school, her teachers, and finally, Inuyasha, but upon thinking of him, she pushed him to the back of her mind. Knowing his image would send doubt into her mind.

'_I know I just have to be myself…'_ Kagome concluded.

She spent an hour in the bath, then another hour doing homework. Still, no one had come home. Kagome could hardly fight the feeling of loneliness that sometimes consumed her. She went to the kitchen area and began cooking dinner for the family.

'They can at least have some food when they get home. Poor mom..' she thought.

Her mother worked two jobs, and she was usually gone from 5 in the morning to 7 at night. Kagome couldn't imagine how she could do it, and knew her mother must be exhausted most of the time.

Finally, as Kagome was turning the heat down on her now cooked ramen, her mother entered the apartment.

"Honey, it smells great in here, what are you cooking?" Her mother asked.

"It's nothing special mom, just ramen." she said as she gave her mother a hug. "Where's Souta?" she inquired, after noticing his absence.

"He's staying at a friend's house tonight. He'll be home tomorrow night." Her mother answered.

Souta was far luckier than Kagome. Although he too had transferred to a public school, he knew several people who went there, and one of his better friends attended the school he now went to.

"Oh…ok then." Kagome said absently.

"How was your first day at school?" her mother asked wearily, helping herself to some of Kagome's ramen.

"It was fine. I met some new people." Kagome answered.

"That's good." Her mother replied.

- -- - -

The rest of the evening was spent with kagome and her mother watching TV on the couch, until nine o'clock when her mother retired to her room. Kagome didn't want to be in the living room alone, so she decided to go to bed as well. Putting on her pajamas, which consisted of a pink rib-knit tank top and a pair of dark blue sweat pants, Kagome crawled into her bed. She didn't have to lay there long before sleep overtook her. Kagome smiled as her mind slipped into the dark nothingness that had been her dreams for almost a year.

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A/N: Well, there's another chapter. It will take awhile to get three up until about christmas because aside from finals i have alot of family things going on. I hope you liked this chapter and please review, I love hearing what you guys have to say.


	3. A Strange Dream and a New Face

Alrighty, Chapter three! W00t! I was a little sad about the lack of reviews from my last chapter, so I want to thank **demonpriestess07** for being the only one who reviewed that chapter. So I'm dedicating this to you, demonpriestess07 heart So, for the rest of you, if you read this please review. It sucks to work hard on stories and then have no one say anything about what you've done. Oh, and this chapter contains some Kikyo bashing, so if you like her, I suggest you don't read this.

(A/N: And today kiddies, I'm going to start the chapter with a semi long dream, so I hope you like dreams. If you don't, well POO ON YOU!)

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha does not belong to me in anyway whatsoever. (it's so depressing)

Key:

_dream _

'_thought'_

"speech"

OK NOW ON WITH THE SHOW! ….err story…

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Chapter Three: Strange Dream and aNew face

_It was dark. Completely dark, and then…light. A small amount of light shone through a window, but the visibility of the room was still poor.  
_

'_What is this place?' Kagome thought, her eyes scanning every inch of the darkness.  
_

_More light was coming in now, very slowly. It illuminated a bed, a very small bed, and a man lying in it. He was sick, or so it appeared, since medical supplies and equipment surrounded him. A girl was kneeling beside the bed, holding one of the man's hands with both of her own. Suddenly the scene was completely visible, and to Kagome's horror, she recognized it.  
_

'…_.Daddy…no not this…please not this' Kagome thought. _

_The man smiled weakly; the heart monitor's beeps becoming more slow and strained.  
_

'_Daddy, don't leave me, you still have time, please stay, please.' Kagome's dream self begged.  
_

"_I can't stay sweetie, I'm sorry…" her father told her, his voice sad and slow. _

_Kagome's eyes filled with tears, she squeezed his hand tighter and he squeezed back as much as he could. _

"_Don't forget that the most important thing, Kagome, is to always be yourself. Never let yourself fall into uncertainty of who you should become, follow your own heart. Remember, I'll always love you, even if you can't see me any longer…" her father said, smiling slightly as the monitor's slow beeps slowed into a steady monotonous one.  
_

'_Daddy! No please no!" Kagome screamed with her mind.  
_

_Her father was gone, gone forever. She would never see him for the rest of her life. It became dark once more and Kagome fell to her knees and cried, putting her hands to her face to stop the tears. Suddenly, out of nowhere, two strong arms wrapped themselves around Kagome. Kagome gasped and looked behind her, trying to identify who the arms belonged to, but she couldn't. The person's face was shadowed and Kagome couldn't make it out, no matter how hard she tried.  
_

"_Don't worry, I'll protect you. I'll stay with you always." A young man's voice came from the shadow that held Kagome in his loving arms.  
_

"_Who are you?" Kagome whispered, not knowing who this person could possibly be._

"_I cannot tell you…not yet." He answered. _

**_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEP BEEP _**(A/N God, don't you just hate those alarms?)

"Ugh" Kagome moaned, slamming her hand onto the snooze of her alarm clock.

'_Why did I dream that? I haven't dreamt of loosing Dad for almost a year.'_ Kagome thought sadly.

She had been plagued with dreams of her father's death for months after he passed. After that, her dreams became dark shadows of nothingness, which Kagome preferred to the cold pains that the dreams of her father brought. But one thing had never happened in any of her previous dreams.

'_But…Why did I dream of that man?_' she wondered.

What bothered her more was the fact that the man had no face, nor did he say who he was. Kagome decided that she should put it behind her; it was just a dream after all. Looking at her clock, she saw it was 6:30.

'_Might as well get up'_ she thought miserably.

Slowly rising from her bed, Kagome made her way to her dresser where she picked out a nice t-shirt and jeans.

'_Kami, I hate mornings'_ she thought as she struggled to get dressed and keep her eyes open at the same time.

Once she was fully dressed she walked into her bathroom, where she washed her face and brushed her teeth, as it was her routine. Her mother must have heard that she was up, because she called from the kitchen.

"Kagome, I made some eggs and bacon if you want it!" her mother called.

"Alright mom, I'll be right there." She answered.

Kagome hurried into the 'kitchen' and grabbed some of the breakfast her mother had prepared. She took a distracted bite of egg as her mind once again drifted on the dream, along with the sad memory it possessed.

'_I guess I failed you dad, every day it becomes harder to love myself, when no one else can seem to love me anymore.'_ She thought sadly.

It would be more than fair to say that life had not been kind to Kagome, but she had been optimistic through it all, or at least as optimistic as she could be with such a great loss.

Kagome had never really had that many friends, if any. She vaguely remembered one girl from when she was around 5, but that memory had faded and become old through the span of 12 years. People thought she was strange, and Kagome could never figure out why. Maybe it was because she dressed differently. Maybe it was because she focused hard on school, not going to many social events. Kagome never knew, or cared for that matter. After her father died, Kagome's dedication to school lessened. She still made good grades, mind you, just not with the original flare she once had.

'_Thank Kami for Sango's invitation. I'm so happy to have made friends so quickly, who'd have known?'_ she thought, suddenly grateful for the opportunity to change herself, no longer wanting to be the Kagome of the past.

Grabbing one last slice of bacon, Kagome said her daily good-bye to her mother and walked down the stairs of the apartment complex to her little Honda. She unlocked the door and started it up, soon out of the parking lot and on her way to school.

Kagome arrived early at Sakura High, so there wasn't nearly as much chaos as the day before. With her mind still half asleep, Kagome walked to her locker that was on the second floor of the school, placed in a neat little hallway near the technological department. She got her books for the classes before her brake and sleepily made her way downstairs towards the Student Commons.

'_Maybe I can find Sango there, if anyone actually even gets here early besides me._' she thought with a yawn.

As she entered the Commons, Kagome's wish had been granted, for there asleep in one of the little booths was Sango.

Kagome chuckled at the sight of the 17-year-old girl curled up into a ball and sleeping soundly, totally oblivious to the word around her.

With a sly smile Kagome walked quietly up to Sango, then shook her awake.

"Jeez Sango, do you live here or something?" Kagome asked with a smile.

"No, I just got here early and wanted to get some more sleep before Miroku came. I wouldn't trust him anywhere near me when I'm sleeping, especially with that hand of his." Sango said, not happy at all for the disturbance in her sleep.

"Aww, come on Sango, he isn't that bad! You two would make a cute couple," Kagome joked, throwing Sango another smile.

"Very funny. YOU haven't known him for three years now have you?" she began then, adding with a sly smile of her own, "Maybe you and Mr. Inuyasha should consider that."

Kagome's cheeks suddenly felt a lot warmer than they had before.

"Sango I hardly even know him! How could I possibly expect to date someone like _him? _For Kami's sake it hasn't even been a week!" Kagome protested.

"Whatever. I do _not _feel like arguing this early in the morning. Thanks for waking me up by the way." Sango said with sarcasm.

"No problem!" Kagome replied in a false, cheerful tone.

The rest of the morning, and the beginning of the day for that matter, went by without much incident. Kagome and Sango's break came upon them quickly and they found themselves walking downstairs to the cafeteria.

"I'm so hungry it's not even funny." Sango said, rubbing her stomach hungrily.

"Yeah, me too." Kagome agreed.

They bought two cups of ramen each, a bag of grapes, some potato chips, and two diet cokes for lunch.

"Wow, I guess we are hungry" Kagome said as she stared at the food that was now spread out on a cafeteria table.

The two girls sat down and began to eat there food. Kagome was fine until she felt something, she couldn't quite explain it, but it felt wrong. Turning her head towards the strange aura, Kagome could pin-point it to a girl walking by near them. She had long black hair that was cut in the latest fashion, a BeBe shirt, and Seven for Mankind jeans on. She also carried a Fendi purse and wore expensive jewelry.

'_Kami! That girl must be loaded!_' Kagome thought, and the aura the girl was giving off was beginning to make her sick.

Sango noticed who she was staring at and rolled her eyes.

"The girl you're staring at is Kikyo. She is, as you can tell, completely loaded. Both in money and in her head." Sango began "I'd stay away from her as much as possibly, she wastes everything and has to be the biggest bitch I have ever met in my life, but she's popular so I guess it fits."

Sango looked disgusted just from looking at Kikyo, and Kagome soon followed suit as she realized what this girl was.

"I get this feeling about her. It makes me feel sick. It's like an overwhelming feeling of greed and desire for material goods, but I guess you can she that from her outward appearance. Still, something about her bothers me." Kagome said

"_Everything_ about her bothers me Kagome" Sango said with a last look of contempt towards Kikyo before she looked away.

"But no one is completely bad." Kagome said, not sure if she actually believed her words in this case.

"Meh. Maybe" Sango replied, not really believing Kagome herself.

The two threw away their trash and did homework until the bell to end the period rang.

As the day wore on, Kagome found herself becoming more and more nervous about the game. Sango was the only one she knew well enough to even call a friend, and the only other acquaintances she had was Miroku, and with Inuyasha going, Kagome didn't know what to think. She had never been drawn to a guy like she had when she first saw Inuyasha, and the emotion she was feeling was as scary to her as it was foreign.

'_I shouldn't be so nervous. It's just a game right? But god knows Sango and Miroku will probably ditch me and leave me alone with Inuyasha. Oh Kami, what would I do then?'_ she thought, not consoling her doubts as much as feeding them.

Kagome sighed deeply and gathered her homework for the weekend. Sango's locker was near hers and she caught sight of her as she walked to her own.

"Hey Kagome, since you're still pretty new, and you don't really know anyone, I was thinking that we could go to the game together, so you could have someone to be with in the beginning?" Sango asked.

Kagome nearly cried with relief.

"Sango that would be awesome." Kagome answered.

"Well, I need to go home and change first, I'll come over to your house at 6 ok?" Sango asked.

"I live in an apartment actually, but yeah that sounds great." Kagome said, giving her newest friend a big smile.

Kagome wrote down the directions and room number of the apartment.

"Oh! I actually know where this is Kagome!" Sango said, "I live in that little neighborhood that's about a half a mile away."

"Oh really?" Kagome asked. "Well that's convenient."

Both girls laughed at their luck. It really was strange how easy the two got along, as well as how close they always seemed to be placed.

"Well see ya in a few hours Kags." Sango said, to Kagome's surprise giving her a hug.

"Yeah see you soon Sango" Kagome said, happily returning the hug.

'_It's so good to finally have a real friend'_ she thought, for this was a first for her: to have a caring, real friend.

**To be continued.**

**---------------------------------  
Author's note:**

Dear God, I hope that chapter was OK. I've been forced to read Charles Dickens for the past few days so my writing probably is on a weird streak. Anyway, I hope you liked it. I'm little nervous with this story, I only hope its coming along ok. I need everyone's opinion: PLEASE REVIEW!

**Dragon Master Briam**: Thankyou so much, your review made me want to write more and it was really a kind thing to say.

**Demonpriestess07**: Again, thanks for reviewing so much!

**DarkAngelPrincess15**: Thanks! I try to update as much as I can!

**Yashaloves69**: I'm glad, I'll try to type more.

**Nicki003:** lol I'm trying to!

**MissBlondie**: Sarah, you are so demented it's not even funny. (jk)

**Bloodinkwriter:** Yes I know Rodriguez is evil. Love ya shea!


	4. Doubts, Games, and Drama

Wow!it's been a long time hasn't it? Did y'all miss me! --crickets chirping--Yes I knew you did! Anyway, another chapter down, finally. Lots of Drama and basic high school jealousy/girl hate/ well you'll see. REVIEW! I'm begging you guys. I'm seriously afraid this story is turning into serious Suckage. haha

"talking"  
'_thinking'_

Here it goes!

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Doubts, Games and Drama.

Kagome was in her room searching through her small piles of clothes.

'_Dammit what am I supposed to wear?'_ Kagome thought, frustrated by the entire situation.

It shouldn't have mattered what she wore, and she usually didn't, but tonight she was thoroughly nervous about her appearance. This would be the first real football game she would have gone to in high school, as well as it was one of the first times she got a chance to go out with friends.

She picked up a black skirt with a dark blue stripe on the side, as well as a dark blue, V-Neck shirt.

'_This looks decent, I guess," _Kagome looked in the mirror and made some last minute fixes. As she was smoothing out her skirt the doorbell to her room rang loudly. She rushed to the door and opened it.

"Sango!" Kagome was never this grateful to have a friend come over.

"Hey, what's up" Sango answered, helping herself through the door.

"I'm so glad you came…is what I'm wearing alright?"

"Uh…yeah. Why wouldn't it be, I mean, it's just a football game." Sango looked over at Kagome, who was obviously nervous. Kagome was fidgeting with her hands and looking at the door desperately.

"Geez what a case!" Sango told her, taking her hands in hers to reassure her. Then she got a sly look on her face. "Oh I get it" she began teasingly, "you're nervous because _he'll _be there, aren't you!"

"What? Who?" Kagome said trying not to give herself away.

"Oh you know! Don't even _try _to play dumb. You're nervous because Inuyasha will be there."

"I…but…" Kagome began as Sango gave her an ever-so-knowing look. "Ok fine! I'm nervous, but I mean…it's not just him; this is like…my first ever high school game. I feel like I'm going to make a fool out of myself"

"Oh please." Sango began rolling her eyes. "Miroku will make a big enough fool out of himself to cover all of us."

Kagome smiled slightly. Sango always found some way to make her feel more comfortable. She wasn't dreading the game, hell; she didn't even know exactly why she was so anxious.

_'I need to be myself. Just be completely myself. This will be fun, and I'll have friends to be with'_ Kagome reassured herself again.

So Kags, shall we go? Sango asked.

"Yeah I'm ready" Kagome said with a smile.

The two girls walked to the parking lot and got into Sango's Nissan. The drive seemed shorter than the usual time it took Kagome to get to school, but that was most likely because she talked with Sango the whole way. When they got to Sakura High, Kagome was amazed.

"Are there _always _this many people here at football games?" Kagome asked as she stared at the nearly full parking lot.

"Well, yeah actually. Sometimes you'll even see people parking on the campus. For some reason these games are like the social place to be, but don't worry about it. People here are generally cool. Besides, if you get upset you can always pick on the little kids that run all over the baseball fields." Sango answered smiling.

Kagome laughed

"You're horrible, poor little kids."

"Poor! Yeah right. The parents who bring them here let them go around doing things they know they aren't supposed to."

Kagome and Sango both smiled at each other. Kagome's nerves were calming down quite a bit, in fact, most of her previous fears were almost completely subsided.

They walked to the gate for the football stadium and showed them their student IDs.

"Gotta love getting in places for free" Sango said.

"Tell me about it" Kagome agreed, it was nice to not worry about money for everything.

As the girls kept walking down the path that led to the bleachers, they heard a voice from behind them.

"Sango! Wait!" Miroku came walking up behind them. "Ah Sango, you look as beautiful as ever."

"You say that every time you see me you idiot." Sango answered, rolling her eyes.

"Well then it must be true if I say it so much" Miroku began, "Oh yeah, and I forgot to tell you, don't be mad but--"

Miroku was cut short as the girls caught sight of a couple walking straight behind him.  
Kagome's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach, and Sango looked like she was going to loose the dinner she had made earlier that night.

Inuyasha was walking towards them, but with one thing different about him. Linked to him, basically hanging off his arm, was Kikyo.

"Since when are they dating" Sango said in a disgusted whisper.

"Now now Sango, let's not be angry or rude, Inuyasha obviously likes….something…about her, so let's respect his opinions." Miroku said, knowing how much the two girls got along…or didn't get along.

Sango looked back at Kagome, who was standing there quietly fidgeting with her fingers. She gave Sango a confused look that Sango returned with a frown.

"Hey everyone. Sango, Kagome" Inuyasha said, looking at each girl in turn with their name as he finally caught up with the group.

"Why hello Inuyasha, I see you brought a friend?" Sango said in an accusing, I'm-not-happy-about-this-at-all voice. Kagome just smiled weakly.

"Um yeah Kikyo is my--" Inuyasha started

"I'm his girlfriend. We talked for awhile and realized we had so much in common. Like we were made for each other, Right Inu hun?" Kikyo interrupted. (((A.N. Sorry I'm making her so annoyingly obnoxious. I just…well…I don't like her ok! Lol. Sorry if its getting unbearable, I promise all this is leading towards something)))

"Oh! Well that's absolutely wonderful Kikyo, I'm so happy for you." Sango said, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Uh, Kikyo and I are going to find a spot on the bleachers, so, I guess I'll see you guys later" Inuyasha said awkwardly. He wasn't used to ditching his friends, but Kikyo wanted to see hers, so he made the sacrifice. Besides, her and Sango obviously hated each other, and he had a feeling she made Kagome uncomfortable.

"Well girls I think that's our cue to find something to do, probably best away from Inuyasha" Miroku said. He wasn't that happy about losing his friend either, and he wasn't that sure about the motives behind Inuyasha choosing her out of all the available girls.

Sango, Kagome, and Miroku went to a spot behind, and under the bleachers.

"This is where we usually hang out, just so you know." Sango told Kagome, who just nodded and sat on a block of wood that someone had left there.

Kagome was confused over everything. First of all, why was she so upset? She had been at this school for a few days, not even months, and she was upset about a guy she hardly knew being with a girl who she hardly knew, yet had bad feelings about. She again found herself wondering why she was so attracted to Inuyasha, his physical appearance was nice, but it took a lot more for Kagome to have these feelings for someone. It was just something about him. Something she couldn't explain that made her want to be with him.

_'I don't understand why I'm like this…it's so strange.' _She thought.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Sango asked concerned. Miroku also had a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah I'm fine, honestly, I don't know why I'm being so weird" Kagome smiled.

"Hey Kagome, Miroku and I are going to go to the concession stand to pick up some cheeseburgers, do you want one? It'll be on the house" Sango offered.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to pay for me." Kagome said, she hated being a burden on other people.

"Kagome it's $1.50. I think I'll live." Sango said with a smile.

"Ok…well. I guess so, thank you so much" Kagome said, smiling at her friend.  
_'Is it really that obvious something is wrong?_' she thought.

Miroku and Sango walked away towards the stand, which was a far distance away, leaving Kagome to her thoughts. Kagome knew it would take them awhile because there was a long line, and the food was coming out slow for some reason. She kept sitting on the block of wood until she heard someone coming towards her from the side.

"Hey, Kagome, why are you all alone here?"

Kagome turned her head, it was Inuyasha.

"Sango and Miroku left to get some food." She answered casually.

"Oh, I came down here to visit you guys, I told Kikyo I had to go to the bathroom, Im surprised she let me go alone" he smiled. "Sometimes I feel like she's suffocating me, and we've only been going out for a week."

"A week? Sango and Miroku made it sound like you were only together since basically today." Kagome said, still trying to be casual.

"Well I didn't tell them, because I was afraid of how they'd take it. I mean, as you can see neither of them are completely wild about her."

"Why are you even dating her then!" Kagome blurted out, immediately covering her mouth with one of her hands. She couldn't believe she had exploded like that, it was so unlike her. She felt horrible at prying, especially since it had only been two days since she met him. But despite her worry, Inuyasha remained calm and looked at her kindly.

"In a lot of ways I'm not sure why myself. There's just something strange about her, and I think I've been seeing her in my dreams, or I saw her in a dream. It was hard to tell. But anyway, I'm just seeing how it goes, maybe it'll turn out."

"I'm sorry I was so blunt, it was none of my business." Kagome said, suddenly fascinated with the ground.

"Don't worry about it, you seem like a really cool person. Tell Sango and Miroku I said hi and sorry I'm not hanging with them. Hopefully I'll see you around more." Inuyasha said as he walked back towards the stairs leading up the bleachers.

Questions still swirled around in Kagome's head.

'He's such a nice guy, and he really seems to care, so why is he with someone so cold and using?' she wondered 'and that dream with the girl…there's no way.' Kagome knew there was no way in the world that could have been her, so she pushed it in the back of her mind. She couldn't hope for something that wasn't there.

Miroku and Sango came back about two minutes later with some food and the group ate the food that they had bought. Eventually the game was over and they went their separate ways. Miroku gave Sango a chaste hug, which was the first normal contact she had seen between the two. Kagome and Sango headed towards Sango's car and drove to the apartments.

"Hey, thanks for coming with me tonight Kagome, I know things didn't turn out that great." Sango said.

"Don't worry about it, it was nice just to be able to talk to you guys outside of school. I'll see you Monday. Ok?" Kagome answered, smiling at her friend.

"Definitely." Sango began. "Oh yeah, and Kagome,"

"Yeah?"

"I'll call you this weekend, maybe we could hang out sometime"

"That's awesome. Thanks Sango. See you later"

Kagome waved to her before going into the main door to her apartment complex. She climbed the stairs and unlocked the door to what she now called home. Everyone was asleep, and Kagome herself was exhausted. She walked to her room and shut the door, then undressed slowly and tiredly. She lied down under the covers of her welcoming bed and let her thoughts take her over.

She didn't know what exactly her future at Sakura High held. But she knew one thing for sure: Her days as a quiet, small private school girl were over, this time, this place, everything was new, painful, and exciting. She just hoped she could handle it all.

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Phew! Ok. Done with that chapter. Man my hands (and brain) are sore. lol. As always I ask that you please review.

**bloodinkwriter**: thanks Shea, and Sango isn't anyone in particular. But she carries some characteristics of all my friends.

**Demonpreistess07:** Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

**Dragon Master Briam:** I'm trying! I hope it can still be great.

**MarinaM89**: Aww thanks. I'm glad you came here to read it.

**MissBlondie**: Sarah I don't know what I'm going to do with you. lol

And thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story so far. You guys help motivate me.


	5. Thoughts and Family

**Chapter 5: Thoughts and Family**

Key:

"talking"

'thinking'

The sun shone into Kagome's small room and illuminated the space which was occupied by her bed. She groaned a bit as the light became apparent to her and roused her slowly from sleep.

_'_No dreams again'she thought, content that the nightmares had apparently ceased again. It was much easier to forget the past if it wasn't haunting her in her weakest moments.

She slowly sat up in her bed and glanced over at the clock.  
_'_2pm_!_' Kagome thought, surprised, _'_How did I seriously sleep so late? I wasn't even up too late last night.'

Even more surprising was that her mother hadn't woken her. It was a Saturday, the day her mother only worked one of her two jobs, and usually she would get Kagome up when she went to work to take care of her brother.

_'_I guess since Souta is still at his friend's it's just me again,_'_ Kagome thought. She hated being left alone in the apartment. It made her anxious. It made her feel as though she was left behind.

_'_I wish it didn't bother me,_' _she thought sadly. _'_I'm old enough to take care of myself, why should I worry about being alone?' but still, the absence of those she loved seemed to pull her into a place where it was just a little too quiet, and too full of thoughts.

As Kagome walked into the living room, turned on the TV and flopped down on the small couch, she started to think of the events last night. The game had been fun, but there were some things she couldn't seem to stop thinking about.

'I'm really glad I met Sango…" Kagome began to think. She thought of her and Miroku, and how it really was obvious that something was there. 'I seriously doubt they'll be just friends forever…there's something about the way that they look at each other,' she thought, smiling.

High school relationships could be so exhilaratingly odd. For many people it's their first love, and part of you always wonders if it's going to last or fizzle out like a candle flame at the end of its wick. As much as Kagome wanted to believe in the longevity of relationships, it was hard to see them as anything substantial.

'I guess for the right people it could be…' she thought sadly.

Kagome felt older than her years in some ways, and occasionally it made her wary of those around her. It took effort at times not to be cynical. It was likely from losing her father that she feared attaching herself to others too much, but she also longed for companionship and love more than almost anything else. She knew she was a romantic, that she desired love and affection, but she suppressed it in order to focus on the present.

'I have to focus on me…I don't have time to chance fleeting dreams' and with that thought, she stood up and stretched.

Just then, her phone uttered a "DING, DING" that told her she had a text message. She walked over and glanced at her phone on the side table. It was her mother asking her to pick up Souta from his friend's house at 4pm. She also told her she wouldn't make it home until 8 or 9pm. Kagome glanced at the clock on her phone, noticing it was already 3:15pm

The corners of Kagome's mouth pulled down into a slight frown. 'She works too much…poor mom. She does so much for us.'

She worried about her mother often, especially the nights when she came home and could barely stay awake long enough to hear about her children's days. Sometimes Souta, ignorant in his youth, thought it was because their mother didn't care enough to know about them, but Kagome knew it was her intense love for her children that kept her working until completely exhausted.

"As soon as I graduate mom, I'll find something that can help you out," she muttered quietly to herself.

She decided to go to her bedroom and get dressed and ready for the day, or what was left of it. She knew she wouldn't have plans for the rest of the weekend, but trying to act like she had something to look forward to kept her mood up. She threw her hair up in a messy bun and headed back to the living room to look for her keys. Again, she checked the time on her phone.

'3:50pm, time to go.' Kagome grabbed her keys and locked the apartment door behind her and made her way down the stairs and to the parking lot.

She turned on the radio in her white Honda civic and kept it on low, wanting to see if any music was on.

"_And ladies don't forget happy hour at the Voguette this Saturday sponsored by yours truly, 101.5, todays best (best) hits and chart topping singles (singles)…."_

Kagome rolled her eyes and turned the radio off; nothing was more annoying that radio advertisements for bar events. Well ok, some things were, but she just wasn't in the mood for it today.

The drive to Souta's friend, Shippo's, house wasn't a long one, and before Kagome knew it she was standing at the door of the big two-story brick house thanking his mother for letting Souta stay the night.

On the drive back, Kagome decided to take a bit longer of a route to have some time to both think and talk to her little brother. Souta was staring out the window with a lost, almost forlorn look on his face.

"Souta, what's wrong?" she asked, noticing his somber mood.

"I don't like going home, much…" he started, continuing to look longingly out the window.

Why do you say that?" Kagome asked, puzzled. She always thought that their family was relatively close and enjoyed being with each other, at least for the most part.

"Some of the kids at school…they tease me and say I'm poor. That didn't used to happen when dad was around." Souta said, obviously hurt and disappointed with the situation.

Kagome felt a knot rise in her throat. She realized some people at her school probably thought of her as poor too. Unlike Souta, though, she had a little more experience with shutting people out and not letting words affect her. It pained her that her little brother was having to learn this lesson so young.

"Souta, mom works really hard so that you can go to school on a scholarship where you do, and so we can stay together as a family. You shouldn't worry about what other people have to say if it's negative. You have to hold onto what makes you, you. And be proud of that." and upon saying that, a voice in her head said 'that's what daddy said…' Her mouth formed a small, sad smile.

"Yeah I know, and I love mom, but I hate not having dad around. I can barely remember him, you know?" said Souta, his voice getting caught in his throat a bit toward the end.

"Yeah, I know, Souta, I do. I miss him every day, but at least we have each other." She put her hand on his shoulder. In a split second of thought, Kagome shoved Souta a little with the hand that was still on his shoulder, getting a half-grin on her face.

"What was that for?!" Souta said, irritated and taken aback a bit by the sudden change in atmosphere.

"I bet I can do something to make you feel a little better." Kagome said with a smile.

"What?" Souta asked, looking away from the window.

"Let's get some ice cream. I'll buy. You can even get your favorite oreo dream flavor!" she suggested, as if holding a very tantalizing opportunity in front of him.

Souta rolled his eyes. "you're just trying to make me feel better," he mumbled.

"Well of course I am, so do you want ice cream or not? We can even go to the Dairy Treat. It's your favorite place!" she offered, saying the last sentence in a sing-song voice.

Souta finally let out a tiny smile and agreed, "alright, but only if I can get two scoops."

"Deal!" Kagome said, thankful he came around. She would do anything for her family. She wanted to do what she could to make those around her happy, even for just another minute.

After getting their ice cream, Kagome drove him home and helped him with some weekend homework. Both of them did some of the laundry to help out their mom. Around 7:30pm, Kagome started to make dinner. Once their mom got home, they all sat and talked about their days, their mother smiling lovingly to each of her children. Kagome looked from her mother to her brother, both engaged in a conversation about Souta's time at his friend's.

She smiled at the sight of her brother talking excitingly about the Dragon Ball Z Kai marathon that happened while he was there, and thought, 'It may not be perfect, but this is what makes a home, home.' She didn't know what she would do without the love and support from her family, even if at times it was flawed. Even without her father, she was thankful for what they had left.

**To Be Continued...  
-**

AN: Can you tell I got tired at the end? Haha. As per usual, please read and review. I appreciate all the reviews from forever ago telling me to continue. I probably would have never thought to now without them. Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this and share your thoughts.


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